Vol. 128, No. 22 Thursday, September 6, 2018
OPINION
SPORTS
A&C
Employers should pay their interns
The man behind Moby Madness
Great Salmon Famine makes waves
page 10
page 11
page 20
Foundry Assistant General Manager Anthony King sprays food waste off the sides of the new ORCA food biodigester. The ORCA is an on-site food waste processing technology that utilities microbes to digest food waste and provide earth friendly water within 24 hours. PHOTO BY MATT BERGEMAN COLLEGIAN
New biodigester reduces food waste in Foundry kitchen By Mason Force @masforce1
Within the first few weeks of classes, over 775 pounds of food waste have been processed by Colorado State University’s newest sustainability project. The extensive renovation project that transformed the old Corbett and Parmelee dining halls into the Foundry also included the addition of a unique machine called a biodigester, the first of its kind at CSU.
The biodigester works like a mechanical stomach. It “digests” food waste by converting uneaten food into a liquid that is then flushed into the sewage system, a process that can supplement traditional composting. Most often, CSU’s biodigester is referred to by its brand name, ORCA. Lucas Miller, the associate director of residential dining, said ORCA can process over 50 pounds of solid food waste per hour. “If you can eat it, ORCA can
eat it,” Miller said. “Basically, it’s diverting a lot of the food waste we have in the kitchen from the landfill. It gets sent out as what’s called grey water.” Despite the machine’s size of over 1,200 pounds, Miller said ORCA’s internal operations are relatively simple. Inside of the biodigester, there are small plastic pieces and a larger auger that spin around. When the trimmings or particles are put into ORCA, it sprays in water and micro-organisms that physically agitate them.
“Using that aerobic process over time, it will turn that solid material into a liquid that falls to the bottom of the machine,” Miller said. Tonie Miyamoto, the director of communications and sustainability for housing and dining services, said University dining halls boast a food waste landfill diversion rate of 93 percent, meaning that only 7 percent of their compostable materials end up in a landfill. Miyamoto said ORCA is in-
tended to supplement this extensive composting program in the hopes of reaching a rate of 100 percent. “We like being able to try different systems to see what are the pros and cons, which is more efficient, which is a better engagement in education tool for our students,” Miyamoto said. “(ORCA) is going to be part of multiple solutions. We have our used oil recycling, we have our
see BIODIGESTER on page 4 >>